Improvement in roofing



" UNTTED STATES MELvnv J. EARL, or MANNsvTLLE, AssreNoR To PoLLY M. EARL, 0E

ELLisRURc, NEW YORK.

IMPROVEMENT IN ROOFING.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 122,372, dated January 2, 1872; antedated December 23, 1871.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, MELVIN J. EARL, of Mannsville, in the county of J efferson and State of New York, have invented a new and Improved Roofing; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, which will enable others skilled inthe art to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawing forming part of this specification.

This invention relates to improvements in roo-ling; and it consists in anovel arrangement of covering and protecting devices for ventilating passages at the peak of a slanting roof made of boards and cleats, running from eaves to peak, and having grooves in the boards near the edges under the cleats for conveying the water away; the said ventilation being required to prevent the water from settling back in the grooves by the melting of snow at the peak in consequence of the accumulation of heat thereat when not allowed to escape, while it freezes at the eaves and'sets back, all as hereinafter more fully specified.

Figure 1 is a sectional elevation of a part of a roof constructed according to my improvements. Fig. 2 is a section along the ridge, and Fig. 3 is a top View.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts.

' The rooiing-boards A are placed side by side from the eaves to the ridge on joists B, stretching from one to another ofthe rafters, the said board being placed so that the edges do not quite meet to allow for expansion, and the upper endsl a short distance apart to allow air to pass from the grooves and cracks to the escapepassage E, and being grooved near the edges, as shown at C, to prevent the water from running to the joints under the cleats D, which coverv the joints between the boards. The boards are fastened at the center only, and the screws or nails which fasten the cleats pass down through the cracks between the boards so as to leave them free to expand and contract without hindrance from the fasteniu gs, which would Vcause them to crack and split if. applied to them at the edges. This kind of root' is desirable on account of the ventilation aforded. Air is fully admitted in the grooves and openings under the cleats, and carries oif all dampness arising from damp or wet weath er, which makes this combination durable. Without ventilation at the top in cold weather the snow f would melt thereat, owing to the heat inside rising to the highest point, while the water running down to the eaves would freeze and set back in the grooves so as to run through i the roof into the l1ouse. 1 therefore propose to make escape-passages E in the upper ends, between the cleats, for the escape of the heated air, and place the vertical plates F below them and the metal angle-plates H over them, the an gle-plates bein g to prevent the rain and snow from fallin g into the passages and Jthe plates F being to prevent beating upto the passages under the angle-plates by the wind. By thusV Ventilating these roofs at the ridge the dan ger of leakage by back-water is avoided and they are made capable of giving satisfactory results.

specified.

. MELVIN VJ. EARL.

. Witnesses:

GEORGE R. Luces, WM. H. POTTER. (126) 

